“What does it mean to be alive?” he asked the girl who’d spoken with an urgency he couldn’t quite understand the purpose for.
“To be alive? Niko, you’re not making any sense.”
“Just answer the question.”
A long pause made him think she’d left him to his fate. He’d never thought of himself as suicidal, but there was always a first for everything. Then his salvation came as the words: “To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to get there.”
He barked a laugh. “You’re giving me a Kofi Annan quote?”
“Off the top of my head, it’s better than nothing!” She stomped her foot and slapped him on the shoulder. “Open your freakin’ eyes!”
At her request, he opened the eyes he hadn’t realized were shut. The strands of her fiery hair had lost none of their luster, even in the fading light. His angel had come to take him away, to save him from the pathetic existence of his own making with Kofi Annan quotes. He reached out a two-ton hand and caressed a lock that dangled off her shoulder while she studied him. His fingers slid effortlessly through the silky tresses.
“You have such beautiful hair,” he whispered.
She flushed.
He sighed.
“Niko…Niko!” She tapped his cheek like a drum, in rapid Samba beats. “Open your eyes. Please. Open your eyes.” When he didn’t respond fast enough, she began pulling him off the bench.
He groaned, the weight of the ages begging him to stay seated. “What are you doing?”
“Taking you to the hospital.” She put his arm over her shoulders and proceeded to tug him across the street.
“No.” He managed to plant his feet firmly on the sidewalk to hamper their progress. “Arianne,
She whirled her head to stare at him skeptically. “You’re gray! I’ve never seen anyone that color before. Don’t shake your head at me. It’s clear you need medical help. You can’t even stand on your own.”
The distress on her face melted his insides. “Please, take me home.”
“I don’t think going to my house—” She paused and thought about it. “Oh, you mean
“Do you know the way?”
Uncertainty replaced her concern. “Uh, yeah, sure…I do.” She cleared her throat. “But what will going to your house do? You need a hospital!”
“Trust me.” A spasm erupted in his chest, causing him to stumble. Arianne steadied him before he face- planted on the pavement. “We need to hurry,” he gasped out. “Please. I don’t know how much longer I can last.”
The bus out of Atlanta arrived.
“Come on.” She hustled them to the street corner. “We need to catch that bus.”
Niko gathered what little strength he could muster and aided Arianne in getting him on the bus. When they stumbled up the steps, the driver studied them dubiously.
“Shouldn’t you two be heading for the hospital?” he asked.
Arianne paid the fare. “Nah,” she said. “He just needs to sleep it off.” She imitated swigging an imaginary bottle.
Niko would have laughed at Arianne’s attempt at sullying his good-teen reputation, but he could no longer feel his legs.
The driver shook his head and muttered something about “kids these days” while shutting the door with the turn of a lever.
The five other passengers eyed them, some with curiosity, others with dismay. The bus lurched forward before Arianne and Niko could take their seat. Arianne used the momentum to heave Niko into a bench and nudged him closer to the window with her hip.
Along the interstate, Arianne said, “Are you sure about this?”
Niko took a minute to process her words. His head debated whether to stay attached to his neck or take its chances and run. It lolled to the side precariously.
“Yes,” he breathed out. “Thank you.”
“Don’t.” She stared straight ahead. “Don’t thank me yet.”
His head found salvation on her shoulder. He breathed in the sweet watermelon scent of her shampoo: summer in all its goodness. She stiffened for a second before relaxing into the contact.
“Niko?” she asked tentatively.
“Hmm?”
“I don’t want to alarm you or anything,” she continued in a quick whisper, “but your hand just disappeared.”
Niko opened one eye so fast his world spun for a second. He glanced down without moving his head from Arianne’s shoulder. A morbid grin tugged at his lips. His left hand had indeed disappeared.
“Well, isn’t that nice,” he said.
“Nice?” Arianne’s voice climbed an octave.
“Shhh. You don’t want the others to hear.” He used his still present right hand to squeeze her thigh. “Calm down. I’ll be fine. Just get me home.”
“But we’re still forty minutes out of Blackwood. What’s happening to you?”
“I’m fading.”
“I’d say there’s no such thing, but your hand’s gone.” She squirmed.
Niko squeezed her thigh one more time, unsure if he wanted to stop her jarring movement or feel that she still sat beside him. He decided on the latter. “Arianne, I’m having a hard time gathering my thoughts. Please, keep quiet. I’ll close my eyes for a second and rest. Wake me when we’re home.”
By the time Arianne dragged Niko up the steps of his home’s front porch, he’d become half delirious. Shakes and sweat rolled off him. He’d babbled incoherently, in and out of consciousness. Every beat of his heart radiated new pulses of pain through his body. At one point, he heard her ring the doorbell and pound on the antique door.
“Hello,” she yelled. “Is anyone home? Mr. and Mrs. Clark! Help!” She pushed at the doorbell incessantly.
In a moment of clarity, Niko asked, “Who are Mr. and Mrs. Clark?”
“Oh God, your fever’s getting worse.” Arianne tightened her grip around his waist. “You don’t even know you have parents.”
“But, I don’t—”
The door swung open with no one at the other side. Niko cringed. Another wave of gut-twisting agony playing stab-the-tail-on-the-donkey rammed his insides as Arianne dragged him into the foyer. His left arm had completely vanished along with part of his right leg up to the knee and his right arm up to the elbow. Holding on to Arianne and keeping upright at the same time brought the gymnast out in him.
“Hello!” Arianne called out again. The word echoed. “We could really use some help here! Hello!”
Sickleton materialized before them like a picture fading in. “Master,” he said, anxiety marring his usually passive features.
Arianne yelped and stumbled back, almost falling over with Niko in tow. “You only have half your legs! And I can see right through you!”
“Not important right now,” Niko slurred.
“Master, what is this human doing in your domain?” Sickleton hovered closer.
Arianne’s arm trembled as she pointed at his Caretaker. “Stay where you are or I swear…uh, I don’t exactly know what I’ll do. So, please, stay there!”
“Sickleton!” Niko tried for a command, but only came up with a hoarse murmur.
“Come.” The Caretaker motioned then floated away.
“What? Where?” Arianne still sounded spooked.
“Just follow me, child. I will not harm you.” Sickleton waved her forward. “He needs to be brought to the
